Gary Wright - The Dreamweaver

Just about everyone's heard "Dream Weaver" - I suppose Wayne's World can take credit for that (although it is a different version, he did like to re-record this song). Still when I found this album I was pretty stoked as I happen to like that song, but I really liked "Love is Alive" and I'll be honest I'd forgotten about that one until I dropped the needle, then it was "Holy mackerel. I love this song."

While my dollar bin copy didn't have an insert, there were decent credits on the back cover, and it was cool to see names like David Foster, drummers Andy Newmark and Jim Keltner and even a guitar cameo by Ronnie Montrose on "Power of Love" - it's the only guitar on the album and it comes at the close of the first side. After setting the tone with the various keyboard and special effects on the first four songs I actually didn't even notice the guitar the first time through - dang, even on the second pass it was there but just part of what drove the song. I guess it served the song, but seems like a waste of a marquee name.

Gary makes a point of mentioning on the back cover that "this is an album of keyboard music. With the exception of drums and vocals all the music heard was produced by keyboard instruments. Which is pretty cool, and I'm glad that this was made in 1975 because a few years later no doubt he'd have used drum machines, and removed one of the elements that make this so enjoyable. The interplay and tension between organic and synthetic. It also doesn't hurt that Gary has a great voice.

The second side opens with "Dream Weaver" it's been a while since I've sat and listened to this. I'd actually kind of forgotten how cool this song is. I do like the moog bass especially when combined with the acoustic drums the rhythm section it underpins everything. It's not an understatement to say this reverberated through future popular music and even progressive rock. Heck SAGA would use moog bass, and still does. The spacey ending was no doubt heard by John Hall from Prism and no I suspect influenced "Spaceship Superstar." Makes me wonder if Chris de Burgh heard this before writing "A Spaceman Came Travelling" - considering both were from 1975 but his was later in the same year, it would make for an interesting coincidence, but is unikely.

"Much Higher" takes the delayed keyboard riff from "Love is Alive" slows it down and marries it to a mid temp rock groove. It's a decent call back to the opening track and fits the tone of the album and is enjoyable in the context of the record, but not something that perks my ears up. The album closes out with a pretty forgettable song "Feel for Me" that just sort of played in the background. 

While this wasn't full of killer songs, two of the nine are so good they lift the entire album. The worst I can say is the other songs are decent but not memorable, and at least they didn't suck. That would have tanked the album for me - killer songs or not.